2023 Greek legislative election
How do political campaigns target voters?
Methodology
In collaboration with Who Targets Me, we monitored over 300 political advertisers in Greece during the 2023 Greek parliamantary election to better understand how campaigns use different targeting methods made available by Meta. To do this, we used data from the Meta Ad Library, using the new βAudienceβ data which gives some detail on how pages target their ads.
To better understand the election, we kept only advertisers who:
- Advertised in the last 7 days (May 31st - Jun 6th 2023)
- Advertised in the last 30 days (May 8th - Jun 6th 2023)
Note: Meta only provides 7, 30 and 90 days windows for the targeting data in their Ad Library. Metaβs data also lags by a few days. We will update this report as soon as new data is available.
We also include spending data from the Google Transparency Report, however the data on targeting criteria reported here exclusively refers to Meta platforms.
About Us
Fabio Votta
Ph.D. candidate in Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam who studies (online) political microtargeting and its usage around the world.
LinkWho Targets Me
Grassroots activist group advocating for transparency in the digital age by monitoring political adverts on social media and their impact on democracy.
LinkTopline Statistics
Meta
Daily Spend
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
In total, political parties spend β¬32,456 and ran 649 ad copies on Meta in this timeframe.
| Number of Advertisers | Top Spenders | Number of Ads | Total Spend | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DCG |
4 |
|
124 |
β¬12,937 |
URA |
5 |
|
169 |
β¬6,773 |
ES! |
2 |
|
41 |
β¬4,356 |
Drugo |
7 |
|
45 |
β¬2,124 |
SDP |
3 |
|
70 |
β¬1,566 |
DF |
4 |
|
55 |
β¬1,543 |
DPS |
1 |
|
8 |
β¬908 |
SD |
4 |
|
30 |
β¬884 |
Prava Crna Gora |
2 |
|
51 |
β¬636 |
HGI |
1 |
|
25 |
β¬350 |
SNP |
1 |
|
15 |
β¬179 |
Demos |
1 |
|
10 |
β¬100 |
LP |
1 |
|
6 |
β¬100 |
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
In total, political parties spend β¬18,354 and ran 378 ad copies on Meta in this timeframe.
| Number of Advertisers | Top Spenders | Number of Ads | Total Spend | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DCG |
4 |
|
68 |
β¬7,385 |
URA |
4 |
|
92 |
β¬3,308 |
ES! |
2 |
|
35 |
β¬3,117 |
Drugo |
4 |
|
24 |
β¬1,238 |
DPS |
1 |
|
8 |
β¬908 |
DF |
2 |
|
25 |
β¬653 |
SD |
3 |
|
19 |
β¬471 |
Prava Crna Gora |
2 |
|
36 |
β¬416 |
SDP |
2 |
|
32 |
β¬357 |
SNP |
1 |
|
15 |
β¬179 |
HGI |
1 |
|
15 |
β¬122 |
Demos |
1 |
|
7 |
β¬100 |
LP |
1 |
|
2 |
β¬100 |
Spending per Targeting Criteria
How much did campaigns spend on different targeting methods? The graphs below show spending overall across all parties and by party.
Note: targeting criteria can overlap so the percentages do not sum up to 100%.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
Overall
By Party
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
Overall
By Party
Top Targeted (Detailed) Audiences
Here, we show the top targeted audiences for each party for the βdetailedβ targeting that Meta offers (ranked by amount of Euro spend). Most (but not all) of these audiences are βinterestβ audiences, i.e.Β the parties targeted people interested in βBooksβ or βPoliticsβ.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
Top Contested Audiences
Here, we show the top most contested audiences, i.e.Β where all parties have spent considerable amounts of money competing to reach voters with the same interests. Most (but not all) of these audiences are βinterestβ audiences, i.e.Β the parties targeted people interested in βBooksβ or βPoliticsβ. In each row on the right hand side, you can see how much in total was spend on that specific target audience.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
Geographical Targeting
The graphs below show various kinds of location targeting that parties engaged in on Meta platforms.
Note: targeting criteria can overlap so the percentages do not sum up to 100%.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
Regions
Cities
Geographical Exclusion
On Meta, political parties can also exclude certain geographical units. The graphs below show which locations were excluded from seeing political advertisements and how much money the parties spend on these ads.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
Cities
Age Targeting
The graphs below show targeting by age groups and how much percentage of party budgets were spent on them.
Note: targeting criteria can overlap so the percentages do not sum up to 100%.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
Gender Targeting
The graphs below show targeting by gender and how much percentage of party budgets were spent on them.
Note: targeting criteria can overlap so the percentages do not sum up to 100%.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
Education Targeting
The graphs below show targeting by education levels and how much percentage of party budgets were spent on them.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
May 31st - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 7 days)
Job Targeting
The graphs below show targeting by job (sectors) and how much percentage of party budgets were spent on them.
Note: targeting criteria can overlap so the percentages do not sum up to 100%.
May 8th - Jun 6th 2023 (Last 30 days)
